Selling flat in Edinburgh with no mortgage outstanding

[GreenTara88]

Hi! I am in the process of selling a flat in Edinburgh owned outright and after receiving an offer, the solicitor's paralegal sent an email to the solicitor I've previously used to buy the flat back in 2016 and demanded information on the source of funds used for the purchase. Did anyone else encounter something like this? Is selling a mortgage free property problematic? During the onboarding process, I have provided info required to verify my identity and address and nothing else was asked. I am puzzled on the timing, because if the firm didn't want to deal with my flat sale, the correct thing would have been to let me know upfront... The only explanation I was given is that my property being mortgage free does not fit their "expected profile". For background, I am a woman, 39, EU citizen and the flat was purchased for around 130K... Should I find another solicitor? Many thanks for the advice!

it's a AML compliance thing as money-laundering via property is on the increase. You'll have been flagged for whatever reason and their risk team will have asked for proof as a legal requirement before they can act for you.

Sold my Edinburgh flat in June with no mortgage (never had one) . Didn’t have any questions about where I got the funding.

Are you taking the money out the country.? That might raise alarm bells.

@Hoosemover, thank you for sharing your experience. No intention to send the sale proceeds abroad... And wouldn't have minded them asking me for details on the funds before the property went on the market. It is the lack of transparency that makes me consider replacing them as a solicitor.

I sold my house 2 years ago mortgage free and didn't experience that.

@bunnypenny

it's a AML compliance thing as money-laundering via property is on the increase. You'll have been flagged for whatever reason and their risk team will have asked for proof as a legal requirement before they can act for you.

We were given a reasonably large chunk of money from my family upon our most recent house purchase and had to provide very extensive evidence as to where the money had come from. It felt ridiculous at the time but now I understand it was to be sure we weren't money laundering

I’m buying a house without a mortgage and had to show where the funds were coming from (sale of three properties and savings). And I think I’ve had to show evidence where the savings came from previously too. I think some solicitors do more in depth money laundering checks than others.